4

Understanding
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Consumer
After reading this chapter
you should be able to:
Behavior
Describe the stages in
LO 4-1
the consumer
purchase decision
process.

Distinguish among Enlightened Carmakers Know What Custom(h)ers

LO 4-2
three variations of the and Influenc(h)ers Value
consumer purchase Who makes 60 percent of new-car-buying decisions? Who influences 87 percent
decision process: of new-car-buying decisions? Women. Yes, women.
extended, limited, Women are a driving force in the U.S. automobile industry. Enlightened
and routine problem carmakers have hired women designers, engineers, and marketing executives to
better understand and satisfy this valuable car buyer and influencer. What have
solving.
they learned? While car price, reliability, and technology are important, women
Identify the major and men think and feel differently about car features and key elements of the new-
LO 4-3
psychological car buying decision process and experience.
influences on ∙ The sense of styling. Women and men care about styling. For men, styling is
consumer behavior. more about a car’s exterior lines and accents or “curb appeal.” Women are
more interested in interior design and finishes. Designs that fit their propor-
Identify the major tions, provide good visibility, offer ample storage space, and make for effort-
LO 4-4
sociocultural influences less parking are particularly important.
on consumer behavior. ∙ The need for speed. Both sexes want speed, but for different reasons. Men
think about how many seconds it takes to get from 0 to 60 miles per hour.
Women want to feel secure that the car has enough acceleration to outrun an
18-wheeler trying to pass them on a freeway entrance ramp.
∙ The substance of safety. Safety for men is about features that help avoid an
accident, such as antilock brakes and responsive steering. For women, safety
is about features that help to survive an accident. These features include
passenger airbags and reinforced side panels.
∙ The shopping experience. The new-car-buying experience differs between
men and women in important ways. Generally, men decide up front what car
they want and set out alone to find it. By contrast, women approach it as an
intelligence-gathering expedition. Referred to as CROPing, women shoppers
look for CRedible OPinions. They actively seek information and postpone a
purchase decision until all options have been evaluated. Women, more

Images
an/Corbis/Getty
©Whisson/Jord
consumer behavior
The actions a person takes
in purchasing and using
products and services,
including the mental and
social processes that come
before and after these
actions.
99
frequently than men, visit auto-buying websites, read car-comparison articles, and
scan car advertisements. Still, recommendations of friends and relatives matter
most to women. Women typically shop three dealerships before making a purchase
decision—one more than men.
Carmakers have learned that women, more than men, dislike the car-buying experience—
specifically, the experience of dealing with car salespeople. In contrast to many male
car buyers, women do not typically revel in the gamesmanship of car buying. “Men get
all excited about going out to buy a car and talk about how they’re going to one-up the
salesman and get a great deal,” says Anne Fleming, president of www.women-drivers
.com, a consumer ratings site. “I’ve never heard or seen any comments from women
like that.” In particular, women dread the price negotiations that are often involved in
buying a new car. Not surprisingly, about half of women car buyers take a man with
them to finalize the terms of sale.1
This chapter examines consumer behavior, the actions a person takes in purchas-
ing and using products and services, including the mental and social processes that
come before and after these actions. This chapter shows how the behavioral sciences
help answer questions such as why people choose one product or brand over another,
how they make these choices, and how companies use this knowledge to provide value
to consumers.
CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS AND EXPERIENCE
Describe the
LO 4-1 stages in the
consumer purchase
decision process.
purchase decision process
The five stages a buyer
passes through in making
choices about which
products and services to buy:
(1) problem recognition,
(2) information search,
(3) alternative evaluation,
(4) purchase decision, and
(5) postpurchase behavior.
FIGURE 4–1
The purchase decision
process consists of five
stages.
Problem
recognition:
Perceiving
a need
100
Behind the visible act of making a purchase lies an important decision process and
consumer experience that must be investigated. The stages a buyer passes through in
making choices about which products and services to buy is the purchase decision
process. This process has the five stages shown in Figure 4–1: (1) problem recogni-
tion, (2) information search, (3) alternative evaluation, (4) purchase decision, and
(5) postpurchase behavior.
The experience a consumer seeks (or avoids) and enjoys (or endures) at each stage
of the purchase decision process often dictates whether she or he will continue or dis-
continue to engage in the buying process. Equally relevant, a consumer’s favorable or
unfavorable experience has important marketing consequences. Experience can influ-
ence consumer satisfaction, consumer loyalty, and consumer willingness to speak pos-
itively or negatively about a company, product, service, or brand.
Problem Recognition: Perceiving a Need
Problem recognition, the initial step in the purchase decision process, is perceiving a
difference between a person’s ideal and actual situations big enough to trigger a deci-
sion.2 This can be as simple as finding an empty milk carton in the refrigerator; noting,
as a first-year college student, that your high school clothes are not in the style that
other students are wearing; or realizing that your notebook computer may not be work-
ing properly.
In marketing, advertisements or salespeople can activate a consumer’s decision pro-
cess by showing the shortcomings of competing (or currently owned) products or
brands. For instance, an advertisement for a new-generation smartphone could stimu-
late problem recognition because it emphasizes “maximum use from one device.”
Information Search: Seeking Value
After recognizing a problem, a consumer begins to search for information, the next
stage in the purchase decision process. First, you may scan your memory for previ-
ous experiences with products or brands.3 This action is called internal search. For
frequently purchased products such as shampoo and conditioner, this may be
enough.
In other cases, a consumer may undertake an external search for information.4 This
is needed when past experience or knowledge is insufficient, the perceived risk of
making a wrong purchase decision is high, and the cost of gathering information is
low. The primary sources of external information are (1) personal sources, such as
relatives and friends, as well as social networking websites that the consumer trusts;
(2) public sources, including various product-rating organizations such as Consumer
Reports, government agencies, and TV “consumer programs”; and (3) marketer-
dominated sources, such as information from sellers including advertising, company
websites, salespeople, and point-of-purchase displays in stores.
Suppose you are considering buying a new smartphone. You will probably tap
several of these information sources: friends and relatives, advertisements, brand and
Postpurchase
Information Alternative Purchase
behavior:
search: evaluation: decision:
Realizing
Seeking Assessing Buying
value
value value value
 Brand and Model Name
Apple MotoZ2 Samsung
Common Selection Criteria iPhone XS HTC U12 LG G7 Force Galaxy S9
Retail price (without contract) $999 $650 $650 $720 $720

Phone display

Audio quality

Text messaging

Web capability

Camera quality
101
Battery
Composite smartphone evaluations by testing organizations

Superior Above Average

Understanding Consumer Behavior

average

FIGURE 4–2
Common consumer company websites, and stores carrying these phones (for demonstrations). You also
selection criteria for the might study the comparative evaluation of selected smartphones from independent
evaluation of rating agencies, such as the one shown in Figure 4–2.5
smartphones.

Alternative Evaluation: Assessing Value

The alternative evaluation stage clarifies the information gathered by (1) suggesting

CHAPTER 4
criteria to use for the purchase, (2) yielding brand names that might meet the crite-
ria, and (3) developing consumer value perceptions. Given only the information
shown in Figure 4–2, which selection criteria would you use in buying a smart-
phone? Would you use price, phone display, audio quality, text messaging, web
capability, camera image quality, battery life, or some other combination of these or
other criteria?
For some of you, the information provided may be inadequate because it does not
contain all the factors you might consider when evaluating smartphones. These factors
are a consumer’s evaluative criteria, which represent both the objective attributes of a
brand (such as display) and the subjective ones (such as prestige) you use to compare
different products and brands.6 Firms try to identify and capitalize on both types of
criteria to create the best value for the money paid by you and other consumers. These
criteria are often displayed in advertisements.
Consumers often have several criteria for evaluating brands. Knowing this,
companies seek to identify the most important evaluative criteria that consumers use
when comparing brands. For example, among the seven criteria shown in Figure 4–2,
suppose you initially use three in considering smartphones: (1) a retail price under
$700, (2) superior text messaging, and (3) superior web capability. These criteria
establish the brands in your consideration set—the group of brands a consumer
considers acceptable from among all the brands in the product class of which he or
she is aware.7
Your evaluative criteria result in two brands/models in your consideration set: the
HTC U12 and the LG G7. If the brand alternatives are equally attractive based on your
original criteria, you might expand your list of desirable features. For example, you
might decide that camera and audio quality are also important and compare the alter-
natives based on those criteria as well.

Shoppers routinely browse
online and shop retail stores,
often during the same
shopping trip.
©Seb Oliver/Cultura/Getty Images
102
Purchase Decision: Buying Value
P
H
Having examined the alternatives in the consideration set, you are almost ready
tto make a purchase decision. Two choices remain: (1) from whom to buy and
((2) when to buy. For a product like a smartphone, the information search process
pprobably involved visiting retail stores, seeing different brands advertised on
ttelevision and newspapers, and viewing a smartphone on a seller’s website. The
cchoice of which seller to buy from will depend on such considerations as the
tterms of sale, your past experience buying from the seller, and the return policy.
O
Often a purchase decision involves a simultaneous evaluation of both product
aattributes and seller characteristics. For example, you might choose the second-
m
most preferred smartphone brand at a store or website with a liberal refund and
rreturn policy versus the most preferred brand from a seller with more conserva-
ttive policies.
Deciding when to buy is determined by a number of factors. For instance, you
m
might buy sooner if one of your preferred brands is on sale or its manufacturer
ooffers a rebate. Other factors such as the store atmosphere, pleasantness or ease
oof the shopping experience, salesperson assistance, time pressure, and financial
ccircumstances could also affect whether a purchase decision is made now or
postponed.8
Use of the Internet to gather information, evaluate alternatives, and make buying
decisions adds a technological dimension to the consumer purchase decision process
and buying experience. For example, 45 percent of consumers with price comparison
smartphone apps routinely compare prices for identical products across different sell-
ers at the point of purchase prior to making a purchase decision.9
Postpurchase Behavior: Realizing Value
After buying a product, the consumer compares it with his or her expectations and is
either satisfied or dissatisfied. If the consumer is dissatisfied, marketers must deter-
mine whether the product was deficient or consumer expectations were too high.
Product deficiency may require a design change. If expectations are too high, a com-
pany’s advertising or the salesperson may have oversold the product’s features and
benefits.
Sensitivity to a customer’s consumption or use experience is extremely important
in a consumer’s value perception. For example, research on telephone services
provided by Sprint and AT&T indicates that satisfaction or dissatisfaction affects
consumer value perceptions.10 Studies show that satisfaction or dissatisfaction affects
consumer communications and repeat-purchase behavior. Satisfied buyers tell three
other people about their experience. In contrast, about 90 percent of dissatisfied buy-
ers will not buy a product again and will complain to nine people.11 Satisfied buyers
also tend to buy from the same seller each time a purchase occasion arises. The finan-
cial impact of repeat-purchase behavior is significant, as described in the Marketing
Matters box.12
Firms such as General Electric (GE), Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, and British
Airways focus attention on postpurchase behavior to maximize customer satisfaction
and retention. These firms, among many others, now provide toll-free telephone num-
bers, offer liberalized return and refund policies, and engage in extensive staff training
to handle complaints, answer questions, record suggestions, and solve consumer prob-
lems. For example, GE has a database that stores 750,000 answers regarding about
8,500 of its models in 120 product lines to handle 3 million calls annually. Such efforts
produce positive postpurchase communications among consumers and foster relation-
ship building between sellers and buyers.
Often a consumer is faced with two or more highly attractive alternatives, such as
the choice between an LG G7 and an HTC U12. If you choose the LG G7, you might
 Marketing Matters Customer Value
How Much Is a Satisfied Customer Worth?
Customer satisfaction and experience underlie the
marketing concept. But how much is a satisfied customer
worth?
This question has prompted firms to calculate the
financial value of a satisfied customer over time. Frito-Lay,
for example, estimates that the average loyal consumer in
the southwestern United States eats 21 pounds of snack
chips a year. At a price of $2.50 a pound, this customer
spends $52.50 annually on the company’s snacks such
as Lay’s and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos 103
tortilla chips, and Fritos corn chips. Exxon estimates that a
loyal customer will spend $500 annually for its branded
gasoline, not including candy, snacks, oil, or repair
services purchased at its gasoline stations. Kimberly-Clark
reports that a loyal customer will buy 6.7 boxes of its

Understanding Consumer Behavior

Kleenex tissues each year and will spend $994 on facial ©Billl Pugliano/Getty
Pugliliano/G
/Gett
tty Images
Images
tissues over 60 years, in today’s dollars.
These calculations have focused marketers’ attention
on their customers’ (1) buying experience, (2) satisfac-
tion, and (3) retention. Consider General Motors (GM), revenue increases $700 million for every percentage
the maker of Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC point that sales retention increases. 
brands. GM estimates that a retail customer is worth This calculation is not unique to General Motors. Re-
$276,000 over a lifetime of buying cars (11 or more), search shows that a 5 percent improvement in customer
parts, and service. GM’s customer retention rate is retention can increase a company’s profits by 70 to
69 percent. Also, GM estimates that its company 80 percent.

CHAPTER 4
think, “Should I have purchased the HTC U12?” This feeling of postpurchase psycho-
logical tension or anxiety is called cognitive dissonance. To alleviate it, consumers
often attempt to applaud themselves for making the right choice. So after your pur-
chase, you may seek information to confirm your choice by asking friends questions
like, “Don’t you like my new phone?” or by reading ads for the brand you have chosen.
You might even look for negative features about the brands you didn’t buy and decide
that the HTC U12 smartphone did not feel right. Firms often use ads or follow-up calls
from salespeople in this postpurchase behavior stage to reassure buyers that they made
involvement the right decision. For many years, Buick ran an advertising campaign with the mes-
The personal, social, and sage, “Aren’t you really glad you bought a Buick?”
economic significance of the
purchase to the consumer.
Consumer Involvement Affects Problem Solving
Distinguish among Sometimes consumers don’t engage in the five-stage purchase decision process. In-
LO 4-2 three variations of stead, they skip or minimize one or more stages depending on the level of involvement,
the consumer the personal, social, and economic significance of the purchase to the consumer.13
purchase decision High-involvement purchase occasions typically have at least one of three characteris-
process: extended, tics: The item to be purchased (1) is expensive, (2) can have serious personal conse-
limited, and routine quences, or (3) could reflect on one’s social image. For these occasions, consumers
problem solving. engage in extensive information searches, consider many product attributes and
brands, form attitudes, and participate in word-of-mouth communication.
Low-involvement purchases, such as toothpaste and soap, barely involve most of us,
but audio and video systems and automobiles are very involving.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CONSUMER PURCHASE
DECISION PROCESS
Number of brands examined
Number of sellers considered
Number of product attributes evaluated
Number of external information sources used
Time spent searching
FIGURE 4–3
Comparison of problem-
solving variations:
extended problem solving,
limited problem solving,
and routine problem
solving.
104
HIGH CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT LOW
EXTENDED LIMITED ROUTINE
PROBLEM PROBLEM PROBLEM
SOLVING SOLVING SOLVING
Many Several One
Many Several Few
Many Moderate One
Many Few None
Considerable Little Minimal
There are three general variations in the consumer purchase decision process based
on consumer involvement and product knowledge. Figure 4–3 shows some of the
important differences between the three problem-solving variations.
Extended Problem Solving In extended problem solving, each of the five
stages of the consumer purchase decision process is used and considerable time and
effort are devoted to the search for external information and the identification and
evaluation of alternatives. Several brands are in the consideration set, and these are
evaluated on many attributes. Extended problem solving exists in high-involvement
purchase situations for items such as automobiles and audio systems.
Limited Problem Solving In limited problem solving, consumers typically seek
some information or rely on a friend to help them evaluate alternatives. Several brands
might be evaluated using a moderate number of attributes. Limited problem solving is
appropriate for purchase situations that do not merit a great deal of time or effort, such
as choosing a toaster or a restaurant for lunch.
Routine Problem Solving For products such as table salt and milk, consumers
recognize a problem, make a decision, and spend little effort seeking external informa-
tion and evaluating alternatives. The purchase process for such items is virtually a
habit and typifies low-involvement decision making. Routine problem solving is typi-
cally the case for low-priced, frequently purchased grocery products.
Consumer Involvement and Marketing Strategy Low and high consumer
involvement have important implications for marketing strategy. If a company markets
a low-involvement product and its brand is a market leader, attention is placed on
(1) maintaining product quality, (2) avoiding stockout situations so that buyers don’t
substitute a competing brand, and (3) using repetitive advertising messages that
reinforce a consumer’s knowledge or assure buyers they made the right choice. Market

What is a behavioral explanation
for why Post Cereals
prominently displays heart-
healthy claims on its Shredded
Wheat brand packaging?
©McGraw-Hill Education/Mike
Hruby, photographer
consumer touchpoints
A marketer’s product,
service, or brand points of
contact with a consumer
from start-to-finish in the
purchase decision process.
c
challengers have a different task. They must break buying habits by using free
ssamples, coupons, and rebates to encourage trial of their brand. Advertising mes-
ssages will focus on getting their brand into a consumer’s consideration set. For
eexample, Campbell’s V8 vegetable juice advertising message—“Could’ve Had a
V
V8”—is targeted at consumers who routinely consider only fruit juices and soft
ddrinks for purchase. Marketers can also link their brand attributes with high-in-
vvolvement issues. Post Cereals does this by linking consumption of its whole
ggrain cereals with improved heart health and protection against major diseases.
Marketers of high-involvement products know that their consumers
cconstantly seek and process information about objective and subjective brand
aattributes, form evaluative criteria, rate product attributes of various brands,
aand combine these ratings for an overall brand evaluation—like the purchase
ddecision process described in the smartphone example. Market leaders ply con- 105
ssumers with product information through advertising and personal selling and
uuse social media to create online experiences for their company or brand. Mar-
kket challengers capitalize on this behavior through comparative advertising that
ffocuses on existing product attributes and often introduce novel evaluative
ccriteria for judging competing brands. Challengers also benefit from Internet
Understanding Consumer Behavior
ssearch engines such as Microsoft Bing and Google that assist buyers of high-
involvement products.
Situational Influences That Affect Purchase Decisions
Often the purchase situation will affect the purchase decision process. Five situational
influences have an impact on the purchase decision process: (1) the purchase task,
(2) social surroundings, (3) physical surroundings, (4) temporal effects, and (5) ante-
cedent states.14
The purchase task is the reason for engaging in the decision. The search for infor-
mation and the evaluation of alternatives may differ depending on whether the pur-
CHAPTER 4
chase is a gift, which often involves social visibility, or for the buyer’s own use. Social
surroundings, including the other people present when a purchase decision is made,
may also affect what is purchased. Consumers accompanied by children buy about
40 percent more items than consumers shopping by themselves. Physical surroundings
such as décor, music, and crowding in retail stores may alter how purchase decisions
are made. Temporal effects such as time of day or the amount of time available will
influence where consumers have breakfast and lunch and what is ordered. Finally, an-
tecedent states, which include the consumer’s mood or the amount of cash on hand,
can influence purchase behavior and choice. For example, consumers with credit cards
purchase more than those with cash or debit cards.
Putting the Purchase Decision Process into Practice: Consumer
Touchpoints and Consumer Journey Maps
Marketing practitioners today focus on the complete consumer purchase decision pro-
cess and consumer experience.15 Their objective is ambitious: To be present at those
moments in time and place that most influence what, when, where, and how purchase
decisions are triggered, information is sought and evaluated, purchase transactions are
made and services are delivered, and postpurchase outcomes affect later consumer
behavior. Marketers call these moments in time and place “moments of truth” because
each can form or change a consumer’s impression about a particular product, service,
or brand.
Marketers view the purchase decision process and consumer experience through the
lens of consumer touchpoints and consumer journey maps. Consumer touchpoints
 Prepurchase Purchase Postpurchase
phase phase phase

Apple print & digital

advertisements Apple loyalty
program
Genius bar
Device ratings Apple
& reviews website Apple devices
& packaging

Problem Information Alternative Purchase Postpurchase

definition search evaluation decision evaluation

Social
Salespeople Customer
media Customer
education staff service

In-person
referrals Apple store Technical support
design & display

FIGURE 4–4
Apple consumer journey
map and consumer
touchpoints for electronic
devices sold in Apple
stores.
consumer journey map
A visual representation of all
the touchpoints a consumer
comes into contact with
before, during, and after a
purchase.
are a marketer’s product, service, or brand points of contact with a consumer from
start-to-finish in the purchase decision process. For example, consumers may see a
company’s offerings online, in print and digital advertisements, or in a catalog; shop
for a company’s products online or in a store; or call a company’s customer service or
technical support department. But consumer touchpoints are not always controlled by
a company. Independent rating and review services and conversations with other con-
sumers, including social media, are also touchpoints if they include reference to a
company’s products, services, or brands. Not surprisingly, social media posts are
tracked by many marketers. Collectively, touchpoints create a consumer experience
whenever consumers and companies engage to exchange information, provide service,
or handle transactions.
A consumer journey map is a visual representation of all the touchpoints for a
consumer who comes into contact with a company’s products, services, or brands be-
fore, during, and after a purchase. Figure 4–4 illustrates a consumer journey map for
electronic devices sold by Apple in its stores, such as smartphones, computers, and
wearable technology. Representative touchpoints are shown along with the underlying
consumer purchase decision process stages. A consumer journey map also shows
what, when, and where different touchpoints play a central role before, during, and
after a purchase. In this regard, consumer journey maps can locate and illuminate
“pain points” that detract from a consumer experience. A website that is difficult to
navigate is a pain point, with severe consequences. Research indicates that consumers
will abandon a website that is difficult to navigate after eight seconds.
Figure 4–5 shows the many influences that affect the consumer purchase decision
process. In addition to situational influences, the decision to buy a product also in-
volves and is affected by important psychological and sociocultural influences. These
two influences are covered in the remainder of this chapter. Marketing mix influences
are described later in Part 4 of the book. Chapter 14  elaborates on consumer behavior
in the context of online information search and buying.

106
 FIGURE 4–5
Marketing mix influences
Influences on the
consumer purchase $ Product
decision process come $ Price
from both internal and
$ Promotion
external sources.
$ Place

Consumer purchase
decision process
Psychological Problem recognition Sociocultural
influences influences
$Motivation and
Information search
$ Personal
107
personality influence
$Perception $ Reference
$Learning Alternative evaluation groups
$Values, beliefs, $ Family
and attitudes $ Culture and
$Lifestyle Purchase decision subculture

Understanding Consumer Behavior

Postpurchase behavior

Situational influences
$ Purchase task
$ Social surroundings
$ Physical surroundings
$ Temporal effects
$ Antecedent states

CHAPTER 4
4-1. What is the first stage in the consumer purchase decision process?
learning review
4-2. The brands a consumer considers buying out of the set of brands in a
product class of which the consumer is aware are collectively called the
_______________.
4-3. What is the term for postpurchase anxiety?

PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Identify the major

Psychology helps marketers understand why and how consumers behave as they do. In
LO 4-3 psychological particular, psychological concepts such as motivation and personality; perception;
influences on learning; values, beliefs, and attitudes; and lifestyle are useful for interpreting buying
consumer behavior. processes and directing marketing efforts.

Consumer Motivation and Personality

Motivation and personality are two familiar psychological concepts that have specific
meanings and marketing implications. These concepts are closely related and are used
to explain why people do some things and not others.
motivation
The energizing force that
stimulates behavior to satisfy
a need.
personality
A person’s consistent
behaviors or responses to
recurring situations.
Video 4-1
Match.com
kerin.tv/cr8e/v4-1
FIGURE 4–6
The Maslow hierarchy of
needs is based on the
idea that motivation
comes from a need. If a
need is met, it’s no longer
a motivator, so a higher-
level need becomes the
motivator. Higher-level
needs demand support
of lower-level needs.
Status, respect, prestige
Friendship, belonging, love
Freedom from harm, financial security
Food, water, shelter, oxygen
108
Motivation Motivation is the energizing force that stimulates behavior to satisfy a
need. Because consumer needs are the focus of the marketing concept, marketers try to
arouse these needs.
An individual’s needs are boundless. People possess physiological needs for basics
such as water, shelter, and food. They also have learned needs, including self-esteem,
achievement, and affection. Psychologists point out that these needs may be hierarchi-
cal; that is, once physiological needs are met, people seek to satisfy their learned needs.
Figure 4–6 shows one need hierarchy and classification scheme that contains five need
classes.16 Physiological needs are basic to survival and must be satisfied first. A Red Lob-
ster advertisement featuring a seafood salad attempts to activate the need for food. Safety
needs involve self-preservation as well as physical and financial well-being. Smoke detec-
tor and burglar alarm manufacturers focus on these needs, as do insurance companies and
retirement plan advisors. Social needs are concerned with love and friendship. Dating
services, such as Match.com and eHarmony, and fragrance companies try to arouse these
needs. Personal needs include the need for achievement, status, prestige, and self-respect.
The American Express Centurion Card and Brooks Brothers Clothiers appeal to these
needs. Sometimes firms try to arouse multiple needs to stimulate problem recognition.
Michelin has combined safety with parental love to promote tire replacement for automo-
biles. Self-actualization needs involve personal fulfillment. For example, a recent Under
Armour advertising campaign challenged consumers to “Rule Yourself!”
Personality While motivation is the energizing force that makes consumer behav-
ior purposeful, a consumer’s personality guides and directs behavior. Personality
refers to a person’s consistent behaviors or responses to recurring situations.
Although many personality theories exist, most identify key traits—enduring charac-
teristics within a person or in his or her relationships with others. Such traits include
assertiveness, extroversion, compliance, dominance, and aggression, among others.
These traits are inherited or formed at an early age and change little over the
years. Research suggests that compliant people prefer known brand names
and use more mouthwash and toilet soaps. Aggressive types use razors,
not electric shavers, apply more cologne and aftershave lotions, and
purchase signature goods such as Gucci and Yves St. Laurent as an
indicator of status. Also, extroversion and neuroticism have been
shown to be associated with impulsive buying.17
Self-
Personality characteristics often reveal a person’s self-concept,
actualization
which is the way people see themselves and the way they be-
needs:
lieve others see them. Marketers recognize that people have an
Self-fulfillment
actual self-concept and an ideal self-concept. The actual self-
concept refers to how people actually see themselves. The
Personal needs: ideal self-concept describes how people would like to see
themselves.
These two self-images—actual and ideal—are
reflected in the products and brands a person buys, in-
Social needs: cluding automobiles, home appliances and furnish-
ings, magazines, consumer electronics, clothing,
and grooming and leisure products. Frequently,
these two self-images are also reflected in the
stores in which a person shops. The importance
Safety needs:
of self-concept is summed up by a senior
marketing executive at Lenovo, a global
supplier of notebook computers: “The
notebook market is getting more like
Physiological needs: cars. The car you drive reflects you,
and notebooks are becoming a form
of self-expression as well.”18
 perception
The process by which an
individual selects, organizes,
and interprets information to
create a meaningful picture
of the world.
perceived risk
The anxiety felt because the
consumer cannot anticipate
the outcomes of a purchase
but believes there may be
negative consequences.
How did Colgate-Palmolive
marketers allay consumers’
perceived risk and change
consumers’ attitudes toward
Colgate Total toothpaste to
create a brand with over
$1 billion in sales worldwide?
The answers appear in the text.
©Whitebox Media/Alamy Stock
Photo
Consumer Perception
One person sees a Cadillac as a mark of achievement; another sees it as ostentatious.
This is the result of perception—the process by which an individual selects, organizes,
and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world.
Selective Perception Because the average consumer operates in a complex en-
vironment, the human brain attempts to organize and interpret information with a pro-
cess called selective perception, a filtering of exposure, comprehension, and retention.
Selective exposure occurs when people pay attention to messages that are consistent
with their attitudes and beliefs and ignore messages that are inconsistent with them.
Selective exposure often occurs in the postpurchase stage of the consumer decision
process, when consumers read advertisements for the brand they just bought. It also
occurs when a need exists—you are more likely to “see” a McDonald’s advertisement 109
when you are hungry rather than after you have eaten a pizza.
Selective comprehension involves interpreting information so that it is consistent
with your attitudes and beliefs. A marketer’s failure to understand this can have disas-
trous results. For example, Toro introduced a small, lightweight snowblower called the
Snow Pup. Even though the product worked, sales failed to meet expectations. Why?
Understanding Consumer Behavior
Toro later found out that consumers perceived the name to mean that Snow Pup was a
toy or too light to do any serious snow removal. When the product was renamed Snow
Master, sales increased sharply.19
Selective retention means that consumers do not remember all the information they
see, read, or hear, even minutes after exposure to it. This affects the internal and exter-
nal information search stage of the purchase decision process. This is why furniture
and automobile retailers often give consumers product brochures to take home with
them when they leave the showroom.
Because perception plays an important role in consumer behavior, it is not surpris-
ing that the topic of subliminal perception is a popular item for discussion. Subliminal
perception means that you see or hear messages without being aware of them. The
CHAPTER 4
presence and effect of subliminal perception on behavior is a hotly debated issue, with
more popular appeal than scientific support. Indeed, evidence suggests that such mes-
sages have limited effects on behavior.20 If these messages did influence behavior,
would their use be an ethical practice? (See the Making Responsible Decisions box.)21
Perceived Risk Perception plays a major role in the perceived risk in purchasing a
product or service. Perceived risk represents the anxiety felt because the consumer can-
not anticipate the outcomes of a purchase but believes there may be negative conse-
quences. Examples of possible negative consequences are the size of the financial outlay
required to buy the product (can I afford $900 for those skis?), the risk of physical harm
(is bungee jumping safe?), and the performance of the product
(will the whitening toothpaste work?). A more abstract form is
psychosocial (what will my friends say about my tattoo?).
Perceived risk affects a consumer’s information search.
The greater the perceived risk, the more extensive the exter-
nal search stage is likely to be. For example, the average car
shopper spends about 14 hours online researching cars and
almost 4 hours visiting car dealerships when choosing a car.22
Recognizing the importance of perceived risk, companies
develop strategies to reduce the consumer’s perceived risk and en-
courage purchases. Some of these strategies and examples of firms using
them include the following:
∙ Obtaining seals of approval: The Good Housekeeping Seal for Fresh Step cat litter.
∙ Securing endorsements from influential people: Colgate-Palmolive secured
the endorsements of dentists to make the claim that Colgate Total toothpaste
is the #1 recommended toothpaste by most dentists.
 Making Responsible Decisions Ethics
The Ethics of Subliminal Messages
For over 50 years, the topic of subliminal perception and
the presence of subliminal messages and images embed-
ded in commercial communications have sparked heated
debate.
The Federal Communications Commission has
denounced subliminal messages as deceptive. Still,
consumers spend $50 million a year for subliminal mes-
sages designed to help them raise their self-esteem, stop
compulsive buying, quit smoking, or lose weight. Almost
two-thirds of U.S. consumers think subliminal messages
are present in commercial communications; about half are
firmly convinced that this practice can cause them to buy
things they don’t want.
Subliminal messages are not illegal in the United
States, however, and marketers are often criticized for
pursuing opportunities to create these messages in both
electronic and print media. A book by August Bullock,
The Secret Sales Pitch, is devoted to this topic. Bullock
identifies images and advertisements that he claims
contain subliminal messages and describes techniques
that can be used for conveying these messages. Do you
“see” the subliminal message that is embedded in the
book’s cover?
Do you believe that a marketer’s attempts to implant
subliminal messages in electronic and print media are a
deceptive practice and unethical, regardless of their ©2004 by August Bullock. All Rights Reserved. Used with
intent? permission. The SecretSalesPitch.com

∙ Providing free trials of the product: Samples of Mary Kay’s Velocity fragrance.
∙ Giving extensive usage instructions: Clairol hair coloring.
∙ Providing warranties and guarantees: Kia Motors’s 10-year, 100,000-mile
limited powertrain warranty.

learning
Those behaviors that result
from (1) repeated experience
and (2) reasoning.
Consumer Learning
Much consumer behavior is learned. Consumers learn which information sources to con-
sult for information about products and services, which evaluative criteria to use when
assessing alternatives, and, more generally, how to make purchase decisions. Learning
refers to those behaviors that result from (1) repeated experience and (2) reasoning.
Behavioral Learning Behavioral learning is the process of developing automatic
responses to a situation built up through repeated exposure to it. Four variables are
central to how consumers learn from repeated experience: drive, cue, response, and
reinforcement. A drive is a need that moves an individual to action. Drives, such as
hunger, might be represented by motives. A cue is a stimulus or symbol perceived by
consumers. A response is the action taken by a consumer to satisfy the drive.
Reinforcement is the reward. Being hungry (drive), a consumer sees a cue (a bill-
board), takes action (buys a sandwich), and receives a reward (it tastes great!).
Marketers use two concepts from behavioral learning theory. Stimulus generalization
occurs when a response elicited by one stimulus (cue) is generalized to another stimu-
lus. Using the same brand name for different products is an application of this concept,

110

How does this advertisement
for Tylenol 8-Hour apply to
cognitive learning? Read the
text to find out.
Source: McNeil Consumer
Healthcare Division of
McNeil-PPC, Inc.
brand loyalty
A favorable attitude toward
and consistent purchase of a
single brand over time.
attitude
A learned predisposition to
respond to an object or
class of objects in a
consistently favorable or
unfavorable way.
beliefs
A consumer’s subjective
perception of how a product
or brand performs on
different attributes based on
personal experience,
advertising, and discussions
with other people.
ssuch as Tylenol Cold & Flu and Tylenol P.M. Stimulus discrimination refers to
a person’s ability to perceive differences in stimuli. Consumers’ tendency to
p
perceive all light beers as being alike led to Budweiser Light commercials that
d
distinguished between many types of “light beers” and Bud Light.
Cognitive Learning Consumers also learn through thinking, reasoning,
C
a mental problem solving without direct experience. This type of learning,
and
c
called cognitive learning, involves making connections between two or more
i
ideas or simply observing the outcomes of others’ behaviors and adjusting
y
your own accordingly. Firms also influence this type of learning. Through
r
repetition in advertising, messages such as “1 Shade Whiter Teeth in 1 Week”
l
link a brand (Colgate Visible White) and an idea (teeth stain removal) by
s
showing someone using the brand and getting whiter teeth. In the same way,
M
McNeil Consumer Heathcare links its Tylenol 8-Hour brand and an idea (pain 111
r
reliever) by showing someone using the brand and finding relief.
Brand Loyalty
B Learning is also important to marketers because it relates
tto habit formation—the basis of routine problem solving. Furthermore, there
is a close link between habits and brand loyalty, which is a favorable attitude toward
Understanding Consumer Behavior
and consistent purchase of a single brand over time. Brand loyalty results from the
positive reinforcement of previous actions. A consumer reduces risk and saves time by
consistently purchasing the same brand of shampoo and has favorable results—healthy,
shiny hair. There is evidence of brand loyalty in many commonly purchased products
in the United States and the global marketplace. However, the incidence of brand loy-
alty appears to be declining in North America, Western Europe, and Japan.23
Consumer Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes
Values, beliefs, and attitudes play a central role in consumer decision making and re-
lated marketing actions.
CHAPTER 4
Attitude Formation An attitude is a “learned predisposition to respond to an
object or class of objects in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.”24 Attitudes
are shaped by our values and beliefs, which are learned. Values vary by level of speci-
ficity. We speak of American core values, including material well-being and humani-
tarianism. We also have personal values, such as thriftiness and ambition. Marketers
are concerned with both but focus mostly on personal values. Personal values affect
attitudes by influencing the importance assigned to specific product attributes. Sup-
pose thriftiness is one of your personal values. When you evaluate cars, fuel economy
(a product attribute) becomes important. If you believe a specific car brand has this
attribute, you are likely to have a favorable attitude toward it.
Beliefs also play a part in attitude formation. Beliefs are a consumer’s subjective per-
ception of how a product or brand performs on different attributes. Beliefs are based on
personal experience, advertising, and discussions with other people. Beliefs about product
attributes are important because, along with personal values, they create the favorable or
unfavorable attitude the consumer has toward certain products, services, and brands.
Attitude Change Marketers use three approaches to try to change consumer
attitudes toward products and brands, as illustrated in the following examples.25
1. Changing beliefs about the extent to which a brand has certain attributes. To
allay mothers’ concerns about ingredients in its mayonnaise, Hellmann’s suc-
cessfully communicated the product’s high Omega 3 content, which is essential
to human health.
2. Changing the perceived importance of attributes. Pepsi-Cola made freshness an
important product attribute when it stamped freshness dates on its cans. Before
doing so, few consumers considered cola freshness an issue. After Pepsi spent
 FIGURE 4–7 US VALSTM Framework
The VALS framework is the High Resources
visualization of the eight
consumer segments.
Consumers with abundant Innovators
resources—psychological,
emotional, and material Ideals Achievement Self-Expression
means and capabilities—
are near the top of the
framework and those with
minimal resources are at the
bottom. Consumer groups
within a motivation can be Thinkers Achievers Experiencers
targeted together. For
instance, a marketer may
target Thinkers and Believers
together. Do you wish to know
your VALS profile? If you do,
respond to the questions on
Believers Strivers Makers
the VALS Survey at www
.strategicbusinessinsights
.com/VALS. Simply click “VALS
Survey” to get your profile.
By design, the questions are
for use by people whose first
language is American Survivors Low Resources
English. If you are not a
citizen of the United States
or Canada, residency should
allow for enough time to about $25 million on advertising and promotion, a consumer survey found that
know the culture and its 61 percent of cola drinkers believed freshness dating was an important attribute.
idioms. If you do not meet 3. Adding new attributes to the product. Colgate-Palmolive included a new antibac-
these conditions, your VALS terial ingredient, triclosan, in its Colgate Total toothpaste and spent $100 million
type will not be accurate. marketing the brand. The result? Colgate Total toothpaste is now a billion-dollar-
Source: www plus global brand.
.strategicbusinessinsights.com/
VALS © 2018 by Strategic
Business Insights. All rights Consumer Lifestyle
reserved. This version is for
the United States only. Lifestyle is a mode of living that is identified by how people spend their time and re-
Different frameworks are sources, what they consider important in their environments, and what they think of
used for different countries.
themselves and the world around them. The analysis of consumer lifestyles, called
Used with permission.
psychographics, provides insights into consumer needs and wants. Lifestyle analysis
has proven useful in segmenting and targeting consumers for new and existing prod-
ucts and services (see Chapter 8 ).
Psychographics is a catchall label used to describe a variety of segmentations such
as those based on behaviors, attitudes, activities, interests, opinions, and social values.
The practice of combining psychology, lifestyle, and demographics to uncover con-
sumer motivations for buying and using products and services is expensive. VALSTM,
owned and operated by Strategic Business Insights (SBI), is more than a lifestyle seg-
mentation because VALS examines the intersection of psychology, demographics, and
lifestyles.26 Using a stand-alone survey and a proprietary algorithm, VALS measures
the enduring differences between U.S. adults aged 18 and older that explain and pre-
dict consumer behavior. Eight primary segments—mindsets—are identified on the
basis of motivations and resources (see Figure 4–7).
According to SBI, consumers are motivated to buy products and services and to
seek life experiences that give shape, substance, and satisfaction to their lives. Differ-
ent consumer groups will often exhibit different behavior; equally as often, different

112
 consumer groups will exhibit the same behavior for different reasons. The majority of
consumers are driven by one of three motivations—ideals, achievement, and
self-expression. Different levels of resources enhance or constrain a person’s primary
motivation. 
The VALS resource dimension includes measures of key demographics, in addition
to psychological, emotional, and material capacities such as self-confidence, curiosity,
information-seeking, and risk-taking. 
∙ Ideals-motivated groups. Consumers motivated by ideals are guided by knowl-
edge and principles. High-resource Thinkers are the old guard. They have
“ought” and “should” benchmarks for social conduct. Low-resource Believers
are not looking to change society. They believe in right/wrong for a good life.
∙ Achievement-motivated groups. Consumers motivated by achievement look for
products and services that demonstrate success to their peers or a group to which 113
they aspire. High-resource Achievers have a me-first, my family-first attitude.
They are anchors of the status quo. Low-resource Strivers live in the moment.
Although they would like to better their lives, they have difficulty doing so.
∙ Self-expression-motivated groups. Consumers motivated by self-expression want
to make an impact on their world. High-resource Experiencers are social and

Understanding Consumer Behavior

spontaneous. They are first in, first out of trend adoption. Low-resource Makers
protect what they think they own. They may appear to be anti-intellectual.
∙ High- and low-resource groups. Two segments stand apart from primary motiva-
tion. High-resource Innovators are future oriented. They are confident enough to
experiment—to try, fail, and try again. Low-resource Survivors are the quiet rank
and file focused on meeting basic needs. They are analog, not digital.
Each segment exhibits unique media preferences. For example, Experiencers are
the most likely to visit Facebook and to read fashion magazines. Makers and Achievers
drive the most miles each week; therefore, they are the most likely segment to view
outdoor advertising. Innovators and Thinkers are the most likely to read national news-

CHAPTER 4
papers. Survivors watch more hours of television in an average week compared to
other groups. 

4-4. The problem with the Toro Snow Pup was an example of selective
learning review ____________.
4-5. What three attitude-change approaches are most common?
4-6. What does lifestyle mean?

SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Identify the major

Sociocultural influences, which evolve from a consumer’s formal and informal
LO 4-4 sociocultural relationships with other people, also exert a significant impact on consumer behavior.
influences on They involve personal influence, reference groups, family influence, social class,
consumer behavior. culture, and subculture.

Personal Influence
A consumer’s purchases are often influenced by the views, opinions, or behaviors of
others. Two aspects of personal influence are very important to marketing: opinion
leadership and word-of-mouth activity.
 opinion leaders
Individuals who exert direct
or indirect social influence
over others.
word of mouth
The influencing of people
during conversations.
Companies use world-class
athletes and music stars as
spokespersons to represent
their products, as in these ads
featuring country music star
Kelly Clarkson (for Citizen
watches) and tennis star Roger
Federer (for Rolex watches).
(left): Source: Citizen Watch
Company of America; (right):
Source: Rolex
114
Opinion Leadership Individuals who exert direct or indirect social influence
over others are called opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are considered to be knowl-
edgeable about or users of particular products and services, so their opinions influence
others’ choices.27 Opinion leadership is widespread in the purchase of cars and trucks,
entertainment, clothing and accessories, club membership, consumer electronics,
children’s toys, food, vacation destinations, and financial investments. A study by
Popular Mechanics magazine identified 18 million opinion leaders who influence the
purchases of some 85 million consumers for do-it-yourself products.
About 10 percent of U.S. adults are opinion leaders. Identifying, reaching, and
influencing opinion leaders is a major challenge for companies. Some firms use
music stars, actors, or sports figures as spokespersons to represent their products.
Others promote their products in media believed to reach opinion leaders. Still oth-
ers use more direct approaches. For example, a carmaker recently invited influen-
tial community leaders and business executives to test-drive its new models. Some
6,000 accepted the offer, and 98 percent said they would recommend their tested
car. The company estimated that the number of favorable recommendations totaled
32,000.
The importance of personal influence has popularized influencer marketing—the
practice of focusing on the identification and recruitment of influencers to advocate
products, services, and brands rather than focusing exclusively on prospective buyers.
Social media, notably Instagram and YouTube, are the primary platforms used in
influencer marketing because they are easily and quickly shared with prospective
buyers.
Word of Mouth The influencing of people during conversations is called word of
mouth. Word of mouth is the most powerful and authentic information source for con-
sumers because it typically involves friends viewed as trustworthy. About 75 percent
of all consumer conversations about brands happen face-to-face, 15 percent happen
over the phone, and 10 percent happen online.28 According to a recent study, 67 percent
of U.S. consumer product sales are directly based on word-of-mouth activity among
friends, family, and colleagues.29
Marketing Matters Customer Value
BzzAgent—The Buzz Experience
Have you recently heard about a new product, movie, creating strategies. Online ac-
website, book, or restaurant from someone you tivities, such as Facebook and
know . . . or a complete stranger? If so, you Instagram posts, are completed
may have had a word-of-mouth experience. through BzzAgent.com. Each
Marketers recognize the power of word of time an agent completes an
mouth. The challenge has been to harness that offline activity, he or she is
power. BzzAgent does just that. Its worldwide expected to file a BzzReport
volunteer army of one million natural-born describing the nature of the
talkers channel their chatter to- buzz and its effectiveness.
ward products and services BzzAgent moderators respond 115
they deem authentically worth with encouragement and feed-
talking about, either online or in back on additional techniques,
person. “Our goal is to capture including flagging any nondis-
honest word of mouth,” says closed content.
BzzAgent’s founder, “and to Agents keep the products

Understanding Consumer Behavior

build a network that turns pas-
sionate customers into brand ©BzzAgent
evangelists.”
BzzAgent’s method is simple. Once a client signs on
with BzzAgent, the company searches its network of
“agents” for those who match the demographic and psy-
chographic profile of the target market for a client’s offer-
ing. Agents then opt-in through an invitation e-mail and
receive a sample product and online training for buzz-
they promote. Who are the
agents? All are gregarious and
genuinely like the product or
service, otherwise they wouldn’t participate in the
BzzCampaign.
Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Danone, L’Oréal, and Unilever
are a sampling of the companies that have used BzzAgent.
Are you interested in BzzAgent? Visit its website at
www.bzzagent.com or www.facebook.com/bzzagent.

CHAPTER 4
The power of personal influence has prompted firms to promote positive and retard
Video 4-2
Dove
negative word of mouth. For instance, “teaser” advertising campaigns are run in ad-
kerin.tv/cr8e/v4-2 vance of new-product introductions to stimulate conversations. Other techniques such
as advertising slogans, music, and humor also heighten positive word of mouth. Many
commercials shown during the Super Bowl are created expressly to initiate conversa-
tions about the advertisements and their featured products or services the next day.
Increasingly, companies recruit and deploy people to produce buzz—popularity cre-
ated by consumer word of mouth. Read the Marketing Matters box to learn how this is
done by BzzAgent.30 Then go to the link in Video 4-2 to see BzzAgent’s campaign for
Dove hair care products.
Unfortunately, word of mouth can also be a source of negative information. For
example, consider the damaging (and untrue) rumors that have plagued Kmart (snake
eggs in clothing), Taco Bell (beef content in taco meat filling), Corona Extra beer
(contamination), and Snickers candy bars in Russia (a cause of diabetes). Overcoming
or neutralizing negative word of mouth is difficult and costly. However, supplying
factual information, providing toll-free numbers for consumers to call the company,
and giving appropriate product demonstrations have proven helpful.
The power of word of mouth is magnified by the Internet through online forums,
blogs, social media, and websites. In fact, companies use special software to monitor
online messages and find out what consumers are saying about their products, services,
and brands. They have found that 30 percent of people spreading negative information
have never owned or used the product, service, or brand and “likes” on Facebook and
Instagram are sometimes gotten by fraudulent means!31
reference groups
People to whom an
individual looks as a basis for
self-appraisal or as a source
of personal standards.
The Harley Owners Group
(HOG) has over 1 million
members and is a prototypical
brand community. Read the
text to learn about the
characteristics of a brand
community.
©Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
brand community
A specialized group of
consumers with a structured
set of relationships involving
a particular brand, fellow
customers of that brand, and
the product in use.
116
Reference Group Influence
Reference groups are people to whom an individual looks as a basis for self-
appraisal or as a source of personal standards. Reference groups affect consumer
purchases because they influence the information, attitudes, and aspiration levels
that help set a consumer’s standards. For example, one of the first questions one asks
others when planning to attend a social occasion is, “What are you going to wear?”
Reference groups influence the purchase of luxury products rather than necessities—
particularly when the use or consumption of a chosen brand will be highly visible
to others.
Consumers have many reference groups, but three
g
groups have clear marketing implications.32 An associa-
ttive group is one to which a person actually belongs, in-
ccluding fraternities and sororities and alumni associations.
SSuch groups are easily identifiable and are targeted by
ffirms selling insurance, insignia products, and charter
vvacations.
Associative reference groups can also form around a
bbrand, as is the case with clubs like the HOG (Harley
OOwners Group), which is made up of Harley-Davidson
ffans. A brand community is a specialized group of con-
ssumers with a structured set of relationships involving a
pparticular brand, fellow customers of that brand, and the
pproduct in use. A consumer who is a member of a brand
ccommunity thinks about brand names (e.g., Harley-
DDavidson), the product category (e.g., motorcycles),
other customers who use the brand (e.g., HOG members), and the marketer that makes
and promotes the brand.
An aspiration group is one that a person wishes to be a member of or wishes to be
identified with, such as a professional society or sports team. Firms frequently rely on
spokespeople or settings associated with their target market’s aspiration group in their
advertising.
A dissociative group is one that a person wishes to maintain a distance from because
of differences in values or behaviors. Firms often avoid dissociative reference groups
in their marketing. For example, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch once offered to pay cast
members of a controversial TV reality show to not wear its clothing. “We understand
that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to
the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,” the
retailer stated.33
Family Influence
Family influences on consumer behavior result from three sources: consumer social-
ization, passage through the family life cycle, and decision making within the family
or household.
Consumer Socialization The process by which people acquire the skills, knowl-
edge, and attitudes necessary to function as consumers is called consumer socializa-
tion.34 Children learn how to purchase (1) by interacting with adults in purchase
situations and (2) through their own purchasing and product usage experiences.
Research shows that children evidence brand preferences at age two, and these prefer-
ences often last a lifetime. This knowledge prompted the licensing of the well-known
Craftsman brand name to MGA Entertainment for its children’s line of My First
Craftsman toys and power tools, as well as Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated Kids maga-
zine and Microsoft’s kid-friendly news site, MSN for Kids.
 Middle-aged
divorced
without
children
Young
divorced
without
children
Middle-aged
married
without
children

117
Young Middle-aged Middle-aged
Young
Young married married married Older Older
married
single without with without married unmarried
with
children children dependent
children
children

Understanding Consumer Behavior

Usual flow
Recycled flow Middle-aged
Young Middle-aged
divorced
Traditional family flow divorced divorced
without
with with
dependent
children children
children

FIGURE 4–8
Modern family life-cycle
stages and flows. Can you
identify people you know Family Life Cycle Consumers act and purchase differently as they go through life.

in different stages? Do
they follow the purchase
patterns described in the
text?
family life cycle
The distinct phases that a
family progresses through
from formation to retirement,
each phase bringing with it
identifiable purchasing
behaviors.
CHAPTER 4
The concept family life cycle describes the distinct phases that a family progresses
through from formation to retirement, each phase bringing with it identifiable purchas-
ing behaviors.35 Figure 4–8 illustrates the traditional progression as well as contempo-
rary variations of the family life cycle. Today, the traditional family—a married couple
with children younger than 18 years—constitutes just 20 percent of all U.S. house-
holds. The remaining 80 percent of U.S. households includes single parents; unmar-
ried couples; divorced, never-married, or widowed individuals; and older married
couples whose children no longer live at home.
Young singles’ buying preferences are for nondurable items, including prepared
foods, clothing, personal care products, and entertainment. They represent a target
market for recreational travel, automobile, and consumer electronics firms. Young
married couples without children are typically more affluent than young singles
because usually both spouses are employed. These couples exhibit preferences for fur-
niture, housewares, and gift items for each other. Young marrieds with children are
driven by the needs of their children. They make up a sizable market for life insurance,
various children’s products, and home furnishings. Single parents with children are the
least financially secure of households with children. Their buying preferences are
often affected by a limited economic status and tend toward convenience foods, child
care services, and personal care items.
Middle-aged married couples with children are typically better off financially than
their younger counterparts. They are a significant market for leisure products and
home improvement items. Middle-aged couples without children typically have a large
amount of discretionary income. These couples buy better home furnishings, status
automobiles, and financial services. Persons in the last two phases—older married and
older unmarried—make up a sizable market for prescription drugs, medical services,
vacation trips, and gifts for younger relatives.
 Family Decision Making A third source of family influence on consumer
behavior involves the decision-making process that occurs within the family.36 Two
decision-making styles exist: spouse-dominant and joint decision making. With a joint
decision-making style, most decisions are made by both husband and wife. Spouse-
dominant decisions are those for which either the husband or the wife is mostly re-
sponsible. Research indicates that wives tend to have more say when purchasing
groceries, children’s toys, clothing, and medicines. Husbands tend to be more influen-
tial in home and car maintenance purchases. Joint decision making is common for
cars, vacations, houses, home appliances and electronics, family finances, and medical
care. As a rule, joint decision making increases with the education of the spouses.
Roles of individual family members in the purchase process are another element of
family decision making. Five roles exist: (1) information gatherer, (2) influencer,
(3) decision maker, (4) purchaser, and (5) user. Family members assume different roles
for different products and services. This knowledge is important to firms. For example,
89 percent of wives either influence or make outright purchases of men’s clothing.
Even though women are often the grocery decision makers, they are not necessarily
the purchasers. Today, 31 percent of men are the primary grocery shoppers in their
households.
Increasingly, preteens and teenagers are the information gatherers, influencers, de-
cision makers, and purchasers of products and services for the family, given the preva-
lence of working parents and single-parent households. The market for products
bought by or for preteens and teenagers surpasses $208 billion annually. These figures
help explain why, for example, Johnson & Johnson, Apple, Kellogg, P&G, Nike, Sony,
and Oscar Mayer, among countless other companies, spend more than $70 billion an-
nually in electronic and print media that reach preteens and teens.

Culture and Subculture Influences

As described in Chapter 3, culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that
Video 4-3
Nissan Ad
are learned and shared among the members of a group. Thus, we often refer to the
kerin.tv/cr8e/v4-3 American culture, the Latin American culture, or the Japanese culture. Cultural under-
pinnings of American buying patterns were described in Chapter 3; Chapter 6 will
explore the role of culture in global marketing.

Today, 31 percent of men in the

United States are the primary
grocery shoppers in their
households. Marketers that
supply the $560 billion retail
food industries are now
adjusting store layouts and
shelf placements to cater to
men.
©Jochen Sand/Getty Images

118
 subcultures
Subgroups within the larger,
or national, culture with
unique values, ideas, and
attitudes.
Why does ACH Food
Companies, Inc. advertise its
Mazola Corn Oil in Spanish?
Read the text for the answer.
Mazola Corn Oil,
www.mazola.com
Source: MAZOLA®, a registered
trademark of ACH FOOD
COMPANIES, Inc.
Subgroups within the larger, or national, culture with unique values, ideas, and at-
titudes are referred to as subcultures. Various subcultures exist within the American
culture. The three largest racial/ethnic subcultures in the United States are Hispanics,
African Americans, and Asian Americans. Collectively, they are expected to account
for more than one in four U.S. consumers and to spend about $4 trillion for products
and services in 2021, which will represent almost 30 percent of the United States’ total
buying power.37 Each group exhibits sophisticated social and cultural behaviors that
affect buying patterns, which we describe next.
Hispanic Buying Patterns Hispanics represent the largest racial/ethnic
H
s
subculture in the United States in terms of population and spending power. About
3 percent of Hispanics in the United States are immigrants, and the majority are
35
u
under the age of 30. About 25 percent of Hispanics are younger than 18. 119
Research on Hispanic buying practices has uncovered several consistent
38
p
patterns:
1. Hispanics are quality and brand conscious. They are willing to pay a
premium price for premium quality and are often brand loyal.
2. Hispanics prefer buying American-made products, especially those
Understanding Consumer Behavior
offered by firms that cater to Hispanic needs.
3. Hispanic buying preferences are strongly influenced by family and peers.
4. Hispanics consider advertising a credible product information source, and
U.S. firms spend about $10 billion annually on advertising to Hispanics.
5. Convenience is not an important product attribute to Hispanic homemak-
ers with respect to food preparation or consumption, nor is low caffeine in
coffee and soft drinks, low fat in dairy products, or low cholesterol in
packaged foods.
Despite some consistent buying patterns, marketing to Hispanics has proven
to be a challenge for two reasons. First, the Hispanic subculture is diverse and com-
CHAPTER 4
posed of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and others of Central and South American
ancestry. Cultural differences among these nationalities often affect product prefer-
ences. For example, Goya Foods markets soups, beans, and sauces using different reci-
pes to appeal to Puerto Ricans on the East Coast and Mexicans in the Southwest.
Second, a language barrier exists, and commercial messages are frequently misinter-
preted when translated into Spanish. Volkswagen learned this lesson when the Spanish
translation of its “Drivers Wanted” slogan suggested “chauffeurs wanted.” The Spanish
slogan was changed to “Agarra Calle,” a slang expression that can be loosely translated
as “let’s hit the road.”
Sensitivity to the unique needs of Hispanics by firms has paid huge dividends. For
example, Metropolitan Life Insurance is the largest insurer of Hispanics. Goya Foods
dominates the market for ethnic food products sold to Hispanics. Mazola Corn Oil
captures two-thirds of the Hispanic market for this product category. Meredith Corpo-
ration has 6.2 million readers of its Spanish-language People en Español magazine.
African American Buying Patterns African Americans have the second-
largest spending power of the three racial/ethnic subcultures in the United States.
Consumer research on African American buying patterns has focused on similarities
and differences with Caucasians. When socioeconomic status differences between
African Americans and Caucasians are removed, there are more similarities than
points of difference. Differences in buying patterns are greater within the African
American subculture, due to levels of socioeconomic status, than between African
Americans and Caucasians of similar status.
Even though similarities outweigh differences, there are consumption patterns that
do differ between African Americans and Caucasians.39 For example, African
Americans spend far more than Caucasians on boys’ clothing, rental goods,

African American women
represent a large market for
health and beauty products.
Cosmetics companies actively
seek to serve this market.
Source: Procter & Gamble
120
s
smartphones, and audio equipment. African American women spend
tthree times more on health and beauty products than Caucasian women.
F
Furthermore, the typical African American family is five years younger
tthan the typical Caucasian family. This factor alone accounts for some of
tthe observed differences in preferences for clothing, music, shelter, cars,
aand many other products, services, and activities. Finally, it must be em-
pphasized that, historically, African Americans have been deprived of em-
pployment and educational opportunities in the United States. Both factors
hhave resulted in income disparities between African Americans and
C
Caucasians, which influence purchase behavior.
Recent research indicates that while African Americans are price con-
sscious, they are strongly motivated by quality and choice. They respond more
tto products and advertising that appeal to African American cultural images,
aas well as address their ethnic features and needs, regardless of socioeco-
nnomic status. African Americans are much more likely to tell their friends
aabout products and services they like than the general public as a whole.
Asian American Buying Patterns Asian Americans are the fastest-
A
g
growing racial/ethnic subculture in the United States. About 66 percent
o Asian Americans are immigrants. Most are under the age of 30. Asian
of
A
Americans tend to live in multigenerational households.
The Asian American
A subculture is composed of Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans,
Asian Indians, people from Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islanders. The diversity of this
subculture is so great that generalizations about buying patterns of this group are difficult
to make.40 Consumer research on Asian Americans suggests that individuals and families
can be divided into two groups. Assimilated Asian Americans are conversant in English,
are highly educated, hold professional and managerial positions, and exhibit buying pat-
terns very much like the typical American consumer. Nonassimilated Asian Americans
are recent immigrants who still cling to their native languages and customs.
The diversity of Asian Americans, evident in language, customs, and tastes, re-
quires marketers to be sensitive to different Asian nationalities. And, for the majority
of each nationality, preserving their cultural heritage is important. As a consequence,
Anheuser-Busch’s agricultural products division sells eight varieties of California-
grown rice, each with a different Asian label to cover a range of nationalities and
tastes. The company’s advertising also addresses the preferences of Chinese, Japanese,
and Koreans for different kinds of rice bowls. McDonald’s actively markets to Asian
Americans. According to a company executive, “We recognize diversity in this mar-
ket. We try to make our messages in the language they prefer to see them.”
Studies show that the Asian American subculture as a whole is characterized by
hard work, strong family ties, appreciation for education, and median family incomes
exceeding those of any other ethnic group. This subculture is also the most entrepre-
neurial in the United States, as evidenced by the number of Asian-owned businesses.
These qualities led Metropolitan Life Insurance to identify Asian Americans as a tar-
get for insurance following the company’s success in marketing to Hispanics.